Edward Elric and the Philosopher's Stone
by I am the HERO AMERICA
Summary: Voldemort wants to get rid of Harry Potter, so when a strange kid from another world comes and offers the chance to trade out Harry Potter for another kid, how could he resist the offer? Ed wants to know why strange things always happen to him, why he dreams of a boy trapped in armor that calls him "brother". Could all the answers be closer than he dared? T because Ed.
1. Prelude

**A/N: Hey, you all remember when I said I would write another crossover that was better plotted out? TA-DA! Here it is, the second Harry Potter/FMA Crossover I've written! And the first chapter is complete shiz. Sorry, I'm in like "I JUST WANNA WRITE THE SECOND CHAPTER!1" The first is just blargh, but I hope to get back to my Every Other Tuesday update plan for this story and a different one that's closing in on the end. That's the plan anyway...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the FMA or the HP universes or characters. Anything copyrighted is not mine.**

**~Read and Review please!**

**~Usachan!  
~Enjoy!**

* * *

Voldemort leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. The man was intrigued, to say the least, he wanted to hear more of what this strange child had to say.

"So, are you in, or out?" The child asked, multiple voices spewing from the strange child's mouth.

"I am interested, and you're sure this will get Harry Potter out of the way?"

"Positive, the only problem is that you'll have to deal with one of my world's inhabitants," the child's multiple voices oozed from it's mouth. The child leaned forward on the table and shoved a file across to the older man. The child tapped the table with it's pointer finger, creating a hollow thumping noise.

Voldemort picked up the file, gingerly flipping through all the papers in the file. His eyes narrowed at the pictures, why had the strange child given him these pictures. All of the photos, esides the first, were of the same person. A small, blond boy with golden eyes and a look as tough as nails.

"What are these?" Voldemort growled, throwing the files down in disgust. He wanted to toss them in the fire that crackled softly to the side of the table.

"Because, these are the subjects for carrying out our plans. The man with the tattoos all over his arms, he's a common criminal that we are in league with, so he'll be performing the deed and the boy, that is our equivalent exchange. A fifteen year old wizard for a fifteen year old alchemist." The strange voices spilled from the child's mouth, rolling across the table and presenting the words to Voldemort's ears.

"Alright, then let's get started."

* * *

"Brother, come back! Where're you going?" An armor-clad boy called, chasing after a small, blond boy in a red coat.

"Common! I'm not letting him get away from me!" The blond boy called over his shoulder, clapping his hands to change his metallic right arm into a short sword.

"What's the matter, pipsqueak? Can't catch a criminal?" The man laughed maniacally as he spread his legs too wide for a practical fighting stance then raised his arms up to show his arms, covered in circles and triangles.

"_I'M NOT SHORT! YOU'RE JUST FREAKISHLY TALL!_" The blond boy screamed as he clapped his hands once more and created a sort of roof above the ally, keeping the criminal cornered. The blond boy smirked and rushed forward, slamming his metal arm against the man's throat. "And, you just lost."

"Not quite, boy!" The criminal laughed again as his arms began to glow, the start of a transmutation. "Now, the Dark Lord's plans shall be fulfilled!"

* * *

Ed awoke, gasping as he tried to catch the scattered fragments of his dream as they floated away. He blinked a couple of times, bringing himself back to reality.

Looking around his small broom closet under the stairs, he could see all the trinkets he had made for himself over the years and smiled. His aunt and uncle never cared enough to give him real toys, so he made his own out of the broken pencils in the bottom of his school bag, left over wrappers, tin foil thrown in the trash after one use, and any other odds and ends he found laying around the house. Ed was very found of his trinkets, when he made them, he felt like he was magic. Even though his aunt and uncle swore that he was a normal nusance in the world.

Thundering foot steps ran down the stairs, then back up, stopping about halfway to be right above Ed's room. Then the stomping and shouting began, "_WAKE UP, ELRIC! WE'RE GOING TO THE ZOO! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAAAAAAAAAKE! UUUUUUUUUUUP!"_ Dudley, Ed's annoying cousin who was just a little older than Ed, began jumping up and down, trying to annoy Ed into a shouting frenzy.

"Oh, Dudders! Come into the kitchen, we have a surprise for you!" Petunia, Ed's quirky aunt with a problem for gossiping and eavesdropping, called in her not-quite-silky voice that felt like sandpaper to Ed's ears.

"Edward! Get up and get into the kitchen!" She barked sharply after her precious baby Dudley had thundered into the kitchen. Ed rolled his eyes at her sharp voice and pulled a pair of Dudley's worn out jeans over his boxers and a red sweatshirt on over his head. The sweatshirt was the only thing Ed owned that wasn't pre-owned by Dudley, but pre-owned by his German teacher. His teacher felt bad that all he had was baggy shirts and baggy pants, so his teacher gave him a sweatshirt that hadn't been worn for three years. It was a little baggy, but Ed didn't mind at all.

When Ed got into the kitchen, he saw the scene that Dudley was making about his presents.

"There's only thirty-six?! That's less than last year! Last year I had thirty-seven!" He hollered, stomping his feet and swinging his arms around. Ed rolled his eyes and made his way over to the stove where Petunia left her eggs to burn. Ed sighed as he flicked the stove off and scooped the eggs onto a plate. He handed his uncle, Mr. Dursley, the plate of eggs then went to find something for himself to eat.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Mr. Dursley asked, not even looking away from the paper he had been reading.

"Well, I need to eat, all living things do, you see," Ed replied, grabbing an apple from the counter and slowly taking a bite from it.

"Fine, you eat that bloody apple. Go take care of that blasted hair, boy!" Mr. Dursley huffed, flicking his paper out to end the conversation.

Ed rolled his eyes, he didn't care what his uncle thought of his hair, it was always long. Even when Mr. Dursley pinned Ed down and cut most of his hair, it simply grew back over night. That was the last time Ed tried to convince his aunt and uncle he was magic, he was locked outside in the rain for three hours.

Ed made his way into his broom closet and looked at himself in the dirty and cracked mirror aunt Petunia had put in there instead of throwing out. A lot of Ed's stuff was like that. His bed had been Dudley's old one that had broken from a jumping competition between Dudley and three of his friends in the third grade. And his sheets, they came with the broken bed with unidentifiable food stains scattered about on the sheets. His clothes, as had been mentioned, were all of Dudley's worn out or shrunken clothes.

Ed studied his face in the broken and dirty mirror and sighed, his bangs were parted down the middle, revealing the lightning bolt scar in the center of his forhead. It was one of his coolest features, but every time he saw it, he felt his heart crack and shudder, threatening to break. It reminded him that both of his parents died in a car crash and he didn't. Ed, the one year old child, had survived while both of his parents had died and Ed got out with just a scar on his forehead. He ran his fingers over the scar, feeling the rough tissue under his fingers and he winced slightly, and he pushed his hand back into his hair. He ran his fingers through the long blond hair on his head.

He quickly braided his hair and left his broom closet.

Ed made his way outside to the car and slid into the only seat left. This was his first time actualy going out in the town with the Dursleys. Usually they dropped him off at the neighbor's house, but she had to pick something up in London, so Ed got to go along to the zoo for Dudley's birthday.

"Ed, look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Mr. Dursley snapped, grabbing Ed's chin and pulling his head to face him. "Petunia, Dudley, Albert and I will be going over here to look at the iguanas. You will keep a close eye on us, but not be near us. Understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon. I will stay away, but I will keep a close eye on you," Ed nodded, shoving his hands in his sweatshirt pocket. Mr. Dursley nodded and then walked stiffly back to his family waiting by the bears.

Ed looked over to the snakes exhibit and made his way to them. Once there, he felt drawn to the snakes in a way he couldn't explain. As he watched the snake, his senses became alive in his brain. Ed could smell the pretzels that children and old men were eating and the smell of the animals in the mid-morning summer heat. He could hear Dudley throw a fit about ice cream, children gushing about how cool the animals were, the animals calling to each other. He could taste the smells in his mouth. He could feel the slight breeze from the opening and closing of the door on his neck. And lastly, he could see every scale on the snake's body.

Ed was mesmerized by the snake's movements: slithering up and down, side to side, and flicking his tongue out to smell the air. Ed's eyes widened in wonder as the snake made it's way over to the glass. The snake slithered in front of the boy and studied him, just like Ed studied the snake.

"Hey, Albert! Look at the freak!" Dudley called, rushing over to Ed.

"Finally found your real family, Edward?" Albert jeered. He and Dudley began to elbow each other and laugh as they began to come up with new taunts to use on Ed. Then, Dudley got an idea. He walked over to his cousin and grabbed him by his sweatshirt collar and shoved him away.

"What the hell?!" Ed hissed, scrambling back to his feet and grabbing Dudley by the shirt collar.

"Ed! You can't do anything to me, or else Mum and Dad will know that you hurt me," Dudley let out a shaky laugh, daring Ed to strike him. Ed growled in frustration and shoved Dudley back into Albert.

"Just leave me alone," Ed murmured, turning his back to Dudley and making his way over to the komodo dragon that snoozed underneath a heat lamp.

Not even a minute passed until Dudley started to harass the snake that had slithered away from the glass.

"Common, you stinky reptile! Look. At. _Me_." Dudley was throwing a hissy fit in the middle of the room, jumping up and down, screeching at the snake. Dudley began to look for an object, any object at all that he could throw at the snake. On the floor, he found bits of popcorn that a child had dropped earlier and no one had bothered to tell the child to pick it up. Dudley started to scoop up the bits of popcorn and throw them at the glass, taunting the snake to do something about it.

"What are you gonna do about it? Nothing! Because you're a boring, rotten, old snake!" Dudley taunted, ending it with a raspberry blown into the glass.

Ed could feel his uncontrollable temper bubbling to the surface as he watched the snake be taunted by his cousin. He could feel the anger bubbling inside of him, stirring and shifting as he glared in the direction of Dudley and wished the glass to disappear, even though he knew it wouldn't do that. After all, Mr. Dursley swore on his life that magic doesn't exist and Ed couldn't prove him wrong.

But, maybe magic did exist, because as Ed stared at the glass, it began to waver then all together it disappeared.

And that's when all hell broke lose: the snake slithered out of his cage and straight up to Dudley, flicking his tongue at the boy, scaring the brat senseless. Dudley ran out of the Reptile House, screaming and crying, Albert and the rest of the Dursley's fast on his heels.

Ed watched as everyone ran from the building,screaming and crying about how the snake had escaped and would "eat them all". Ed calmly followed the crowd until he got out of the build and headed over to the parking lot.

"Thank_sss_, Edward E_llll_ric." Ed stopped and turned as the snake slithered back, thanking him for aiding in his escape.

"No problem, . Go live free and happy," Ed smiled sheepishly, unsure if the snake had actually talked to him or if he had imagined it. One thing Ed knew for sure was that he was in for a world of trouble when he got back to the car.


	2. The Broken Door

**A/N: Sorry, this was due last Tuesday, but I was at my grandma's house and if I went on that schedule, I would've had to update on the first day of school, so no. I'm not sorry for changing it to benefit my schedule. I'm stressed out, sorry. But it's long! So, yay! I also had to cut it a little short so the next one could be just as long!**

**So, I just copy 'n' pasted the letter from Hogwarts because I really couldn't remember what needed to be on it, but I admit it. **

**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist, Harry Potter, the letter from Hogwarts, and any other copy righted materials are not mine. Sorry.**

**~Usachan!  
~Enjoy!**

* * *

"Edward! Go check the mail!" Ed groaned as he heard his uncle yell at him from somewhere inside the house. Ed had managed to get off from the snake incident without being caught by the Dursleys, for they had been looking at the lizards and you wouldn't be able to see the snakes from the lizards and if Ed had done as told, he wouldn't have been near the snakes.

"Get your own mail, old man," Ed griped to himself. He reluctantly set his book down and left his small closet to go check the mail.

Ed knelt down to scoop up the mail. The letter on top caught his eye, in more ways than one. Fist, it was written in a curly script, not quite cursive, but very pretty. It seemed to be a handwritten letter, and it was addressed to him. No denying it, there was mail, for _him_. Ed had never gotten mail before, so he was a little shocked when he read the address.

Edward took a deep breath, trying to get himself under control by shoving the letter in his back pocket, out of sight, out of mind.

"Here, Uncle, it's mostly bills, but I put the important on top for you," Ed mumbled, dropping the bills on the tabletop.

"You're awfully quiet this day, what'd you break?" Mr. Dursley asked offhandedly, flicking his paper out, making a sharp and quick snap float about the air.

"Only your books," Ed muttered to himself, sneaking an apple from the counter and rushing off to his cupboard under the stairs.

Ed sat up against the door, making it impossible to open without knocking first. He then pulled the sleek envelope out from his back pocket and stared at it. Not only had it been addressed to him, but the sender got his exact address down, right down to the cupboard under the stairs. The green writing on the front shined in the light from his desk lamp clinging to the ceiling of his cupboard. The envelope was made of a sturdy material, not stuff you'd find in the post office. The envelope was sealed with a red seal, engraved with a weird coat of arms, one which seemed familiar to Ed, but he couldn't put his finger on it...

Ed slid his finger underneath the envelope's lid and then ran his finger along the edge, popping the seal off and successfully opening the letter.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear ,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted atHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on31 July. We await your owl by no later than30 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Ed stared at the piece of parchment in front of him with eyes wide in alarm. He was... what? This letter didn't make any sense. He read it again, and then again, then he read it a fourth time just to be sure he had his head on right. He was accepted to a wizarding school? His aunt and uncle had a lot of explaining to do.

"Uncle Vernon!" Ed shouted, banging the cupboard door open and storming into the kitchen.

"What is it, you pest?! Can't you see I'm busy with work?!" He hollered in Ed's face. But, it didn't scare Ed, not one bit, instead, Ed screamed his response,"_what's this supposed to be?! Some cruel joke to tell me I'm going to public school again?!" _

Ed slammed the parchment down on the piles of bills and scowled at his uncle, "What does this mean?"

His uncle simply gaped at the sudden outburst, Ed was normally lippy to his aunt and uncle, but never had he ever full on shouted at the two.

"I will _not_ take that tone of voice, you insufferable brat!" Mr. Dursley was turning red in the face, but it wasn't just from the shouting, he had a secret and Ed wouldn't stop until he found it.

"Tough luck, explain this!" Ed insisted, pounding his fist on the parchment addressed to the golden haired boy.

"I have no idea what it means." Mr. Dursley slammed the bill in his hands down and stood up. He grabbed Ed's upper arm harshly and dragged him off to the cupboard, kicking and screaming.

"Tell me what it is!" Ed screamed, being thrown down in his room by his uncle then, the door clicked shut as his uncle slammed it in front of Ed's face.

"Get packed!" Mr. Dursley screamed, Ed could hear him slide the lock into place.

* * *

A few hours later the Dursleys and Ed were all piled into Mr. Dursley's car and being driven to who-knows-where by an angry, slightly crazy, Mr. Dursley.

"Dad? Where are we going?" Dudley asked, clutching the handle above his window in an attempt to keep upright as his dad swerved and turned sharply without any warnings.

"It's a surprise," Mr. Dursley chuckled to himself as he took the exit out of the city, "a very special surprise."

As the man kept driving, the sun started setting and the storm clouds started to roll into view. Ed glanced at the clouds, clutching the small, beaten up bag close to his chest and bracing himself against the car door. He heard the pavement turn into gravel, and then eventually it turned into dirt. The small car pulled into the drive of a small shack on the edge of the sea, thunder cracking as the engine turned off, scaring the living daylights out of Petunia.

"Alright, out! It's time to sleep!" Mr. Dursley had finally found his way to Crazy Town, where they had awarded him the honor of Mayor.

The Dursleys and Ed all rushed inside the shack and started setting up for the night. As they all got settled, the rain pounded on the thin roof, wind ran through the cracks of the shacks walls, chilling the air around the family.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley headed into the bedroom to sleep, leaving Dudley and Ed in the main room to sleep.

"This is all _your_ fault, Elric," Dudley muttered shoving Ed out of his way and plopping down on the couch.

"My fault?! What'd I do, prat?" Ed huffed, throwing his bag on the floor and sitting down in a huff next to it.

"If you didn't give Dad that stupid letter, then we would still be at home," Dudley spoke slowly, as if Ed was some little kid who didn't understand his math homework.

Ed rage grew the more Dudley started to rant, blaming everything that could go wrong on Ed. As Ed's temper grew shorter, the storm picked up, battering the small shack with heavy drops of rain and great gusts of wind. Lightning lit the entire room when it struck near the lighthouse. The smell of salt wafted through the air as the sea beat against the cliff where the shack was located. The storm chilled Ed to the bone, making him forget about his annoying cousin and turn his attention over to the worn out door with suspicion.

Ed watched the door, he thought someone, or something, had been pounding on it moments ago, but who would be crazy enough to even think about going out in a storm as bad as the one threatening to rip the shack from the cliff?

Again, the pounding came, making Ed jump to his feet and hold his hands up in fighting position.

"Dudley, shut up." Ed hissed, unable to hear if the pounding had stopped, for Dudley had began to rant once more.

Luckily, Dudley took the hint from his cousin and shut his mouth, keeping his wide, terrified eyes on his cousin as he inched closer to the door.

Another crack of thunder and the door burst open, revealing a large, dark figure standing in the doorway. Ed gave no thought to what he was doing as he threw his left arm at the figure, jumping to reach the head.

"Calm down, now, I'm only here to talk," the figure laughed, bending down to help Ed back to his feet before entering the small shack and slamming the door behind him, causing it to fall off it's hinges. "Oops. My bad..."

"Who are you?" Ed asked, taking a few steps back to get a better look at the large man. He was very tall, he had to slouch just to have his head brush the ceiling of the small shack. Ed envied him for his height, yet not for the dark gray and black grizzled hair that seemed to swallow the man's head and face. His dripping, curly hair reached just past his shoulders and his beard was just as long. But, Ed could see his eyes through all the hair and they were kind, and innocent. Ed felt at ease the more he looked at those eyes.

"Name's Hagrid, an' I'm lookin' fer Edward Elric!" The man stated with glee. He reminded Ed of Santa, if Santa had a leathery cloak and broke doors down upon entering.

"What could you want with him?" Dudley scoffed, finding his voice and getting over the shock of a strange man coming in and asking to see his cousin.

"Well, I'm Edward Elric, how do you know who I am?" Ed asked, taking a step closer to the strange man.

"Ah, Edward, my boy! Yeh've grown since last I'd seen yeh! Though you were a wee tot at the time," Hagrid laughed as he placed his giant hand on top of Ed's head.

"What do you want with me?" Ed asked, ducking out from under the man's giant hand. He wasn't used to affectionate touches like hair ruffling, so he was confused and a tiny bit worried when Hagrid tried to touch his hair.

"Well, we hadn' heard from yeh after you opened yer letter, so, I'm here to get yeh!"

"Get me? Why? What did I do?" Ed asked, stepping back from the large man.

"Yer special, Ed. Yer a wizard."

Ed was shocked, to say the least. He was never once been seen as special, at least in the good way. No one had ever looked at Ed the way this man did,with affection and pride. He was always looked down on, shunned for being the scum his uncle thought he was. He looked at the large man that was looking at him as if he, Edward Elric, were one of the greatest people to ever live.

"Well, let's get goin', then." Hagrid said, turning to the door and into the rain.

"Go? Go where?" Ed called, not moving from his spot on the floor. He felt the urge to follow the man out into the storm, but you can't always trust your instincts. That was one lesson Ed had learned from an early age.

"To Hogwarts, the term starts in a few days," Hagrid explained, turning to give the young wizard a smile. Ed returned the smile with one of his own and grabbed his bag, following the man out into the raging storm.

* * *

"Hagrid! Where are we going?" Ed asked, struggling to keep up with the large strides the older man took. They had left the small shack early in the morning, about three o'clock to be exact, and had headed straight to the heart of London.

"We're going to get yer things for school, Ed!" He smiled down at the boy as he stopped in front of a shabby little pub called the Leaky Cauldron. "Ah, here we are! In yeh get, Ed!" Ed was ushered quickly inside the pub, Hagrid's large hand guiding him into the shabby place gently.

Once inside Ed could tell this place wasn't the sort of place you'd normally take an Eleven year old, what with the dim lighting and the smell was practically dripping with alcohol. And the people there weren't the prettiest sight to behold. Two women well past their golden age sat in the back corner, drinking something purple and fizzy. The rest of the small pub's population included a man with scars all over his face drinking shots, a jittery man wearing a turban picking at a salad in front of him and a man with jet black hair and eyes like obsidian to match.

Ed felt put off by the black haired man and chose to stick close to Hagrid as he made his way up to the bar, smiling pleasantly the whole way over.

As Hagrid chatted up the bartender, Ed surveyed his surroundings: small tables placed haphazardly around the small pub and chairs seemed to be distributed about them with no scheme other than to get in the way of pub goers.

"Ed! Common, we've got things to do!" Ed nodded and followed the large man out the back of the shop.

"What are we doing out here, I thought we were getting stuff for Hogwarts?"

"Just watch," Hagrid gave a wink then pulled out a pink umbrella. He placed the tip on a few of the bricks in the back of the dark alleyway then took a step back, watching as a gateway to what seemed like another world to Ed opened in front of them.

"Edward, welcome to Diagon Alley." Hagrid smiled and swept his arm to the new world Ed was witnessing.


	3. Jerk in the Robe Shop

**A/N: Guys, you should all be proud of me. I am sick, yet I STILL got this out for you guys, but I cut it off again because my head is killing me and I need to lie down before I throw up :P BUT I HOPE TO GET BACK ON MY SCHEDULE! NOT NEXT TUESDAY, BUT THE NEXT TUESDAY! Stay tuned for updates, my minions! You're called that, no arguments. **

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

**REVIEW PLEASE! I KNOW THEY WON'T ACTUALLY HELP ME, BUT THEY'LL AT LEAST MAKE ME SMILE! TELL ME IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP CUTTING THEM OFF!**

**~Usachan!**

**~Enjoy!**

* * *

**Ed's eyes widened as he looked at the alley before him. Shops of bright colors and odd names lined the alley, up and down, cramped and squished in with each other. The shoppers in the alley were even more extravagant than the shops they used, robes and silly hats with feathers and sticks and odd squares of fabric patching up odd places on this or that.**

Children ran through the streets with small trinkets that made whizzing or popping sounds, chasing each other or calling taunts as they disrupted traffic and nearly made Ed fall flat on his face as he tried to keep up with Hagrid's brisk pace. And as they passed shops, he could smell the chocolates and other treats being sold on the Alleyway.

"Hagrid, where are we headed?" Ed asked, hopping off the curb and crossing the street with the giant man.

"Don' you worry, Ed," he winked down at the boy with a kind smile, "we'll take care of you."

Ed felt a small spark, a tickle really, at the back of his brain that he couldn't explain as Hagrid smiled down at him, a twinkle in his inky black eyes. It was a warm, comforting longing, something he hadn't felt in long, long time, if ever. It almost felt like trust, but Ed didn't trust that anyone would take care of him. Not that he'd want them to, he could fend for himself, he'd been doing if for ten years now.

"Ed, this is Grinngotts, Wizard Bank! We need ter get some money before we buy yer school stuff. Wizards don't use Muggle money, yeh know." Hagrid explained as he led Ed up the marble steps into the giant bank.

Once inside, Ed was greeted by quite a sight: goblins were sitting at very tall desks that seemed to dwarf even Hagrid, using abacuses and counting little bronze coins and jewels of all kinds, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, the like. The desks ran along either side from the large entrance, a polished light brown wood with brass edging and designs on the front of them. They lined the long, daunting entryway that ended in a slightly smaller, Hagrid sized desk with a goblin scowling down the entryway at Ed and Hagrid.

"Common now," Hagrid mumbled, leading Ed towards the desk at the end of the way.

"How can I help you today?" The goblin asked in a bored, dry voice. Ed met the goblin's scowl with his own, if Ed was good at anything, it was giving more attitude then he ever resieved.

"We've come ter take out some money in Mr. Edward Elric's safe," Hagrid nodded at Ed who gave a small, tight nod to the goblin. The goblin leaned forward to get a better look at Ed before returning to his seat.

"Does Mr. Elric have his key?" He asked dryly, directing his glare over to Hagrid as the burly man began to pat down his clothes.

"I had it somewhere," Hagrid muttered, emptying his pockets and placing the contents on the goblin's record book. Ed stifled a laugh as Hagrid placed a handful of moldy animal treats on the book. The goblin turned his nose up in disgust.

"Ah-ha! Found it, the little bugger," Hagrid stated triumphantly as he pulled out the key and gave it to the goblin with a grin. He then scooped up the moldy treats, much to Ed's disappointment.

"This seems to be in order, shall we-"

"Wait, I've got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore about the You-Know-What in his secret vault," Hagrid stated importantly, puffing out his chest and straightening his posture slightly as he handed over the letter to the goblin.

The goblin gingerly took the letter and read it thoroughly, "seems legitimate, I'll have someone take you to the vaults. Griphook!" The goblin turned his head and summoned a goblin that wasn't behind a desk to come and take them to the vaults.

"Hagrid, what's the You-Know-What?" Ed asked as Griphook led them off down a small hall and through a small door.

"I can't tell yeh, it's secret," Hagrid spoke quietly, "top secret Hogwarts business that Dumbledore trusted me with," Hagrid gave a small wink to Ed, silently telling him not to worry about it.

The small goblin, Griphook, held a door open for the two and they filed in, Ed a little more easily than his giant companion. Ed was surprised by the decor that greeted him once inside the door, instead of more marble like the entry and hallway, he found himself in a cave-like structure with dark stones for walls and giant flame lit torches casting flickering, orange light. There was a steep, almost vertical drop a hundred yards in front of him with a thin railway clinging to the edge, hanging over the side of the cavernous, no doubt dangerous, drop. A small cart inched forward on the track, coming to stop next to Griphook who had shoved past the open-mouthed blond and he beckoned Ed over to join him in the front, leaving the back for Hagrid, who had a little bit of a problem trying to squish himself into the small seat.

Once everyone was settled, the cart took off, much faster than before. It sped at speeds Ed didn't think were legal, or safe, of normal roads, but was having too much of a thrill to care. The cart seemed to have a mind of it's own as it zipped around, turning sharply and following the dips and drops in the track without the help of Griphook to steer. Ed grinned wildly as the wind whipped through his hair and tousled his already messy bangs.

They passed a beautiful underground lake with shimmering water and Ed turned to watch it pass and caught a glimpse of Hagrid from the corner of his eye. The man looked green, to say the least. With his eyes screwed shut in determined pain and his hands resting tightly around his stomach, Ed could tell the man wasn't enjoying himself on the wild cart ride.

The cart came to a steady stop in front of a small door carved out of the cavern wall. Once out of the cart Hagrid slumped in relief and began to catch his breath from the wild ride. So, Ed turned to watch as Griphook opened the door and revealed the contents to Ed.

To say that Ed was stunned would be an understatement, Ed was astonished by all he saw in front of him, piles of silver, towers of gold, and mounds of the little bronze coins he saw earlier.

Hagrid came over to stand by Ed and smiled down at him, "all yours."

"R-really?" Ed stammered, he never owned money in his life, and here was Hagrid showing him all this and telling him it was his. Ed was completely overwhelmed with gratitude for the man. Hagrid gave a nod then began helping Ed scoop some into a small cloth bag.

"Right, the gold ones are Galleons, silver are Ickles and bronze are Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, simple enough," he handed the small bag to Ed with a smile, "right, that should be enough for the year, we'll keep the rest safe here."

"Okay," Ed nodded, clutching the small bag to his chest with a small smile.

"Can we, uh, go a bit more slowly?" Hagrid asked, squishing himself in the back of the cart.

"One speed only," Griphook smiled over his shoulder as the cart took off, luckily with fewer dips and curves to follow.

When they came to a rattling halt, Griphook got up and Hagrid followed him, telling Ed to stay in the cart.

Ed watched as Griphook ran a long, crooked finger along the door, then it was just gone, like it had never existed in the first place. Ed was completely baffled, not even bothering to try and see what Hagrid was shoving into his pocket.

After the trip to Gringotts, the two stood outside, blinking in the bright, mid-morning light.

"Right then, I think we get robes fer yeh," Hagrid nodded,pointing towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Ed gave a nod and headed that way.

"Ed, min' if I, er, slip off fer a minute fer a pick-me-up? I always feel a little, weel, yeh know," Hagrid shuffled awkwardly, obviously sorry about the position he was in.

"Sure, no problem, I'll just get my robes," Ed gave a wave and turned back to head over to the shop, feeling slightly excited. This was really happening, wasn't it?

Inside the shop, Ed was greeted by a woman who was short and stout and had a round, cheery face with curly brown hair tucked under a bonnet. She was dressed in mauve from head to toe.

"Hogwarts, dear?" She asked and Ed assumed she was the Madam Malkin the store was named after.

"Uh yes, I am," Ed nodded, a trifle awkward. She smiled and led him over to the back of the store. She then stood him on a stool, but not because he was short. She grabbed a rather large black robe and tugged it over Ed's head. Once she successfully had it on Ed, she began to pin the robe to his size.

On the stool next to Ed there stood another young boy, with hair so pale it looked white and a tiny sneer.

"Hello," the boy greeted, "Hogwarts?"

"Uh, yeah, you?" Ed nodded, trying not to squirm as Madam Malkin began pinning around the back of the robe.

"Of course, my father and mother are out buying everything I need," he drawed in a bored tone.

Ed nodded in return and began to tune the boy out, he heard something about brooms and first years not allowed to have one and other things he didn't even bother to try and understand. This smug little brat was annoying the hell out of Edward, and that's all he cared about.

"Well?" The boy snapped, bringing Ed back to the stool he stood on.

"What?" Ed snapped right back, turning his head to the boy rather sharply and casting him a hard stare.

"Have you got your own broom?" The boy asked, no doubt for a second time.

"No, I haven't, not that I need one," Ed added the last part to himself as he turned back to the wall in front of him, trying again to tune the boy out.

"What house do you reckon you'll be in? No one really knows for sure, but you can always assume. I reckon I'll be in Slytherin, that's the best house," the boy had his nose turned up in an air of sophisticated snobbishness. "My family has been in Slytherin for generations, so I'll obviously be sorted into Slytherin, but imagine if I was sorted into _Hufflepuff_! I might just _die_!" The boy drawled on. He seemed to be obsessed with saying the word "Slytherin", which Ed wondered about it's meaning, but he didn't dare ask, lest he get a full explanation on the word he was so fond of.

"What about you? What house do _you _think you'll be in?" The boy turned, casting his sharp gaze over at Ed, who struggled not to jump off the stool and strangle the boy.

"You two, you're done now!" Madam Malkin shooed the two boys over to the front of the store where they paid for the robes then left.

"My name's Malfoy by the way, Draco Malfoy."

"Right, Edward," Ed gave a nod then turned to see Hagrid striding over with two large ice cream cones and a dorky grin.

"Ed! I got you chocolate an' vanilla, didn' know which yeh'd prefer, so I got both." Ed smiled gratefully and accepted the cone with "either's fine, Hagrid" and they headed down the

alleyway, finishing up Ed's school shopping.

Ed was completely and utterly in love with everything he found in the wizarding world. Ed wound up loving the bookstore best. He found books on almost anything imaginable: potions, charms, hexes and alchemy alike. Ed wanted to spend the rest of the day in there, reading everything he could get his hands on.

Hagrid had to literally pull the boy out of the shop, prying the alchemy book from his hands.

In the end though, he had let Ed get the book, chuckling about how Ed was so attached to it that the store keeper gave him a discount on the book.

"Shut up, Hagrid! It's really interesting!" Ed grumbled, crossing his arms and shoving the small book in his hoodie's giant front pocket.

"Yer just like yer mum! She always looked the happiest with her nose in a book," Hagrid smiled nostalgically as he turned into a shop on the corner of the street.

"Uh, Hagrid, why are we in here? I thought I needed a wand?" Ed followed the large man around the dimly lit shop, eyes taking in the shop. It was full of owls in every shape and kind.

"I haven't gotten yeh a birthday presen' yet! It's been eleven years, thought I might get yer owl for yeh,"

"Hagrid! You really do-"

"I know, I wan' to!" Hagrid smiled down at Ed, who looked up with a small smile and an even smaller nod.

In the end, Ed had decided on a great gray owl with dark golden eyes. The owl's eyes seemed to be the color of liquid gold, a warm, kindness seemed to flow from the owl's wise eyes. Edward decided to name the owl Alphonse, after the armored boy from his dreams. He couldn't explain why, but the name was important to him, even if the boy it came from was a figment of his imagination.

After buying the owl, Hagrid walked Ed down the way to the last shop, a small shop made from old wood and chipped paint with a sign reading Ollivander's Wands.

"That's the last thing on this list, a wand."


End file.
